Despite suspending Waymo in February, the CPUC has allowed the company’s ambitions to expand.
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has granted Waymo authorization to expand its robotaxi operations to Los Angeles and further cities in the San Francisco Peninsula. This decision was made in spite of criticism from local organisations and government organisations. According to the judgement that was made by the regulatory body, “Waymo may begin fared driverless passenger service operations in the specified areas of Los Angeles and the San Francisco Peninsula, effective today,” the decision was written in PDF format. According to CNBC, Waymo has been conducting tests of its driverless vehicles in those regions for some time now; however, this decision would enable the company to charge customers for the rides that they take in its robotaxis.
In its decision, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) admitted that it had received letters of protest regarding the expansion of Waymo from the City of South San Francisco, the County of San Mateo, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, and the San Francisco Taxi Workers Alliance. And the government received such letters prior to suspending Waymo’s expansion operations in February for a period of up to one hundred and twenty days. This was in response to the discovery that the Alphabet-owned business had issued a recall for its vehicles. It was stated at the time that two of Waymo’s robotaxis had collided with a pickup truck that was facing backwards and was being towed in December 2023. The reason for this collision was that the algorithms used by Waymo had erroneously forecasted the movements of the truck. It was necessary for the corporation to devise and implement a solution for its fleet.
In the past, Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles wrote a letter to the California Public Utilities Commission (PDF) in which she expressed her worries regarding the decision of the regulator to permit autonomous vehicles to operate in her city. “To date, local jurisdictions like Los Angeles have had little to no input in AV deployment and are already seeing significant harm and disruption,” according to her. “I’m confused and a bit suspicious that the CPUC took only 11 days to change its mind on the suspension,” said David Canepa, vice president of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, in a statement after this latest development. Canepa was referring to the fact that the CPUC changed its mind on the suspension. As far as I am concerned, this is both obnoxious and dishonest. We have not engaged in any discussions to address our concerns, and this indicates to me that neither Waymo nor the CPUC are concerned about the public safety of our people or the worries of the local community.
On the other hand, Waymo spokesperson Julia Ilina sent a statement to Wired in which she assured the general public that the business will take a “incremental approach” when it comes to launching the service in Los Angeles. There are also “no immediate plans” to expand its service in San Francisco, according to the company. In addition to that, she stated that Waymo will continue to “work closely with city officials, local communities, and [its]partners.” Ilina has also mentioned that the CPUC did get letters of concern, but it also received letters of support for Waymo’s expansion from 81 different organisations and individuals as it was receiving letters of protest. These contain letters from a variety of organisations that campaign for people with disabilities and the elderly, as well as letters from community councils in the area and advocates for transportation.